Clayburgh returning to Portsmouth School Board

PORTSMOUTH — Newly elected School Board member Nancy Novelline Clayburgh said she expects the board to be a “very productive group.”

Joey Cresta

PORTSMOUTH — Newly elected School Board member Nancy Novelline Clayburgh said she expects the board to be a “very productive group.”

Clayburgh, who has served the past six years on the City Council, is returning to the School Board, which she previously served on for eight years. She led all candidates with 2,794 votes in Tuesday’s election.

“I’m very excited. I was looking forward to being on the School Board again. It was a very, very complimentary vote,” she said.

Also elected Tuesday were current board Chairwoman Leslie Stevens, who received 2,123 votes; retired teacher Helene “Lennie” Mullaney, who received 1,985 votes; incumbent Tom Martin, who garnered 1,459 votes; and newcomer Jeff Landry, who received 1,321 votes.

There were seven candidates on the ballot for five available seats, although one of the candidates dropped out of the race early on. Gary Epler received 1,213 votes, and despite exiting the race, John Wyman managed 1,054 votes.

Clayburgh said she has gotten to know all those elected Tuesday and believes they all have positive attitudes about the schools.

“I think everyone will work well together,” she said. “It seems like a group of reasonable people who feel passionate about the schools. I think we should have a pretty cohesive, well-balanced group.”

Clayburgh said returning to the School Board should be a nice change of pace after six years on the City Council.

“It will be a nice challenge for me,” she said. “Instead of talking about parking and building size, it will be a nice change for me to talk about students and schools.”

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